Re: [Fwd: F22 completes 11% of its Flight tests]

[kdevlin@mpinet.net (K. Devlin)]

>On 16 Jan 2000 00:57:05 -0800, Keith Thompson <kst@cts.com> wrote:

>"jtarver" <jtarver@tminet.com> writes:
>> Nothing like having the rules change to deliver that Boston pork.  DEC had
>> extensions when their computer became the defacto standard for Ada.  At the
>> time any extensions to Ada were forbidden.  Data General was rightiously
>> upset when this was done.  I was working SDI in the 80s when Ada became the
>> perfered controls language.
>
>Please be specific.  What extensions are you referring to?  (BTW, I
>was working on Ada compilers in the 80s.)
>
>> Ada suxs.
>
>Yeah, whatever.
>
>-- 
>Keith Thompson (The_Other_Keith) kst@cts.com  <http://www.ghoti.net/~kst>
>San Diego Supercomputer Center           <*>  <http://www.sdsc.edu/~kst>
>Welcome to the last year of the 20th century.

I would suggest that attempting to reason with jtarver is a waste of
time.  He clearly hates Ada, appears to hate Lockheed Martin and
NOTHING you can "say" nor can any documented proof, change his
opinions.

I hope he doesn't fly on Boeing 777 A/C as they are as close to 100%
Ada based as possible (see http://adaic.org/docs/flyers/boe-777.shtml)

He doesn't seem to, or want to, understand that (particularly when DoD
"owned" Ada) there was (and still is) only one validation suite. A
compiler either met this and received a validation certificate or it
didn't.  If DEC Ada became the "defacto standard" it was because they
had an excellent product and their computers were widely used in the
area where Ada was mandated.  


Of course there were/are differences between compilers. Among others,
I've used DEC Ada and also a version of Telesoft Ada ported to the
VAX.  In the Telesoft version one had Integer (32 bits) and
Short_Integer (16 bits). DEC Ada had Integer (16 bits) and
Long_Integer (32 Bits).  Both compilers were validated and these types
were clearly defined in the appropriate place of their respect RM.
This particular example wasn't a big deal (nor was it an "extension)
as a simple global replace of integer for long_integer and then
short_integer to integer or vica-versa was sufficient and of course
either compiler would point out the unknown type name. 

My original cut at the program was in DEC Ada as much due to the
excellent error messages as anything else, and then I moved it to
Telesoft which is where the one issue (the integer types) surfaced.
Granted both compilers targeted the VAX but each was validated and the
differences were minor, and those differences were properly
documented.

IIRC, to do anything other than simple text_io required using package
STARLET (which might be jtarver's extension's).  This package was/is
"legal" and was clearly documented in the appropriate section of the
RM in accordance with the standard. 

 

kbd